Most Asian airlines ready to beat 2000 'bug'
Most Asian airlines ready to beat 2000 'bug'
SINGAPORE (Agencies): Seventy percent of Asian airlines are confident they will be airborne at the turn of the new year despite the threat of the "millennium bug", a Reuters survey found.
Fourteen out of 20 respondents -- 70 percent -- said they would "definitely" be flying on Jan. 1, 2000. Another 20 percent answered "probably", one airline said it would "maybe" fly on that date and one, Indonesia's financially stricken PT Garuda Indonesia, replied "probably not".
However, PT Garuda Indonesia's communications manager Pujo Broto asserted in Jakarta on Monday that the national flag carrier was well prepared to deal with the threat of the millennium bug.
"We have no problems with Y2k because our system is in compliance with it," he told The Jakarta Post.
Pujo said Garuda had established cooperation with several overseas information technology firms (IT), such as Atraxis of SwissAir for its computer reservation system, SAP of Germany for finance and Alitalia for its automotive maintenance.
Garuda's personnel application system and operational system will be completed by September, he said.
"So it is not true that we are not ready. We are well prepared for the millennium bug threat and will operate on Jan. 1, 2000," Pujo added.
The year 2000 or Y2K problem arises from the inability of some computers and computer systems to recognize the date 2000, since they were programmed to read only the last two digits of a year.
The glitch may cause computers to malfunction or shut down.
In January and February, Reuters asked Asian airlines and airport regulators six questions about millennium compliance. Respondents did not answer every question.
Of the 20 airlines that answered the first question about whether their computer systems were Year 2000 compliant, 85 percent said they were not completely ready.
Two of the three that said they were already compliant are South Korea's Asiana Airlines and China's Hainan Airlines Co. The third did not want its answers to be identified.
Deadlines for full millennium compliance ranged from March 1999 to October 1999.
How did the airlines define compliance? The largest percentage of 14 respondents -- 71.4 percent -- said they took it to mean "All systems will function into Year 2000".
Four airlines said compliance meant that its operation and all other operators it relied on were compliant. Another four picked both statements as their definition of compliance.
Analysts and industry observers said the airline industry will be watched especially closely. "It's a very high-profile industry," said Peter Negline, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney.
"If this issue is not resolved with confidence and public fears are not allayed suitably, it certainly could damage the industry," he said.
Asia has been accused of falling behind in Y2K preparations, and an economic crisis has raised concerns that funds will be diverted to more immediate needs.
When asked if some carriers would choose not fly on Jan. 1, 2000, respondents were almost evenly split, with 55.6 percent saying some airlines would not be airborne.
For those that believed some airlines would not be flying, two expected the carriers to be grounded for one day, two for up to one week and one for longer than a month.
Airlines can't afford to idle their fleets, said James Ong, public relations officer at the 19-member Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
Most airlines and airport authorities are in the advanced stages of millennium compliance. Out of 21 responses to a question asking for a rating of readiness, 81 percent said they are in the "green" mode, meaning that they have a "comprehensive and realistic program in place and on schedule".
IATA has launched a $20 million program to monitor and assist Y2K preparedness among industry suppliers. It is doing on-site audits at major airports and offering training or "toolkits" to smaller airports to guide them on fixing the problems. (aly)